It Was Jack All Along: Our Adoption Story

Lately I’ve been looking through my basement and garage taking mental inventory of things I’m ready to get rid of.  Things to donate or sell, or just give away. Jack’s newborn car seat hasn’t been used in many months. I walk by it every day as I get into my car and it collects dust sitting in Chris’s fishing boat.  We bought it new and it’s in great condition. I’d hoped to donate it somewhere but honestly haven’t gotten around to doing it yet. After wondering for weeks what to do with this car seat I suddenly thought of a friend who is currently going through the adoption process. She and her husband and their two kids are ready and excited to welcome a little one into their family. I sent her a quick text asking if she needed a newborn car seat, and let her know if she did I’d be happy to give her ours.  She texted back, grateful for the offer and quickly accepted. We set up a time to meet at a local park so I could give her the car seat and our kids could have a chanc...

Have you ever heard the expression, Loose Lips Sink Ships ?  Or  maybe the one by Shakespeare, give every man thy ear, but few they voice ?  As an adoptive mom I have mastered the art of knowing when to be quiet. During our adoption process we were paired with several caseworkers throughout our experience, but it was our first case worker, Dawn, who shared oh so many nuggets of wisdom (see previous post on Dawn’s advice dated March 21).   It was Dawn who first expressed to us the importance of protecting our adoptive child’s  story. We heard this from multiple staffers at our agency, it was an integral and impactful part of our adoption education.  It’s one of those things that seemed  so obvious once it was presented and explained to me, but honestly I had not given it much thought before hand.  As an adoptive parent  I am responsible for keeping my child’s social information private.  Any information I have about my child’s birth ...